Chelsea's Story
by Leng Leng
Summary: This is about how Chelsea came to be a rancher in Sunshine Islands. After losing her best friend and crush seven years ago, Chelsea had moved on. She decided to start her own ranch, see how she overcome all difficulty and will she find love?
1. Prologue

**Prologue: This is where we Say Goodbye.**

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Harvest Moon._

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><p>It is in the early morning where it is still dark. The streets are dimly lighted. The waves hit the shore gently in its own rhythm. The lazy night came to an end when the sun peek through the horizon, slowly rising. A young man walked towards the dock with a backpack, ready for his journey. He dons a blue cap which hides most of his short blond hair, a pair of blue overalls over a white shirt, with a brown jacket and a pair of black boots. His most captivating feature is his emerald green eyes, which sparkles in the light. When he got to the dock, he turned to take one last look at the village he grew up in, trying to commit every detail to his memory. He doesn't know when he will be back, or if he will ever come back. He had just lost his grandfather, the only family he had left. Now it is time to move on.<p>

He turns back towards the dock to head towards the fishing boat in which he had arranged with the village's fisherman who would take him to a port. That was when he heard a voice calling his name frantically. He turned and saw that his childhood friend was running towards him trying to catch up. He waited for her as she arrived.

"Chelsea..." The young man said in a brotherly voice, "Why are you up so early?"

The girl Chelsea is in her teens. She is panting, her hands on her knees and her head down trying to catch her breath. She has long brown hair which was messy from sleep and was wearing what looks like pyjamas and was barefooted, needless to say, it look like she just woke up and saw him leaving the farm. She took a moment before looking up to meet the young man's green eyes with her sapphire blue ones. Her face lined with worry.

"Mark, where are you going?"

He sighed and braced himself for what was coming and answered, "I'm going to the city to start my life over."

"What! Why? You can't leave, you have a life here, and a good one!" Chelsea exclaimed.

"Chelsea... I have nothing left here, my grandfather was the only family I had left, and he's gone now." He explained calmly. "It does not feel right being here and running the farm without him. Besides, it was his dying wish that I go to the city to make a better life for myself."

"So you plan to leave without telling your best friend where you are going," she accused.

"It's cause I know this is how you would react Chelsea. Chelsea, you're a great friend and I've known you since forever, you're like a little sister to me, but this is something I have to figure out on my own."

When she looked down casted he added, "I will call you as soon as I get there. Keep you updated."

"Promise?"

"Yep, promise."

Mark then hugged her, before saying. "Well this is goodbye then, I shouldn't keep Joe waiting." He said referring to the fisherman who was watching the scene silently. Then teased, "Besides, someone here needs to go get changed and start on her farm."

"Well, whose fault is that?"

They both burst out laughing.

"Goodbye Mark, make sure you call or I'll disown you so you wouldn't be my 'big brother' anymore! Let alone my best friend!"

"Haha, don't worry I will. Wouldn't want that to happen."

Mark then sat foot on to the boat began to leave. Chelsea stood there and watched till she no longer see the boat across the ocean.

"Till we see each other again," Chelsea whispered as a tear rolled down her cheek, the wind blowing on her face. She turned and slowly walked back home.

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><p><em>Authors Note: Thanks for taking your time to read this. This is the first fanfiction I'm writing so any comments would be great. One of the reasons I'm writing this is of course, I'm a big fan of Harvest Moon "Hurray!" though the main reason would be to improve my writing skills and since English isn't my first language I don't mind critiques on spelling, grammar and even use of punctuation, just be constructive<em>

_Let me know if the formatting is okay, if it is difficult to read and if I would need to space out the text more._


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: A New Farm and the Start of an Adventure.**

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Harvest Moon._

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><p>It was dusk when Chelsea was sitting at home reading the newspapers. The sound of the fire crackling in the fire place, her Labrador, Toby sleeping next to it, and the chatter of her parents in the background is very familiar and soothing on this cold winter night. She had been saving money and is looking to buy a farmland of her own and had been keeping an eye out for about a month. There had been many good ads but she they were not what she was looking for. She wanted a place where they had a close-knit community, one that was not too commercialized. Having done a lot of farming together her parents with her own two hands, she cannot imagine using machinery such as tractors to plod the land. While she is content doing farm work here with her family, she wanted to have her own ranch and her parents had supported her decision, they knew they couldn't keep her in their nest forever even if they wanted to. She absently flipped the page and there it was; an ad for a ranch that had been shut down for a while. It is located at an archipelago, where there is a small but growing community.<p>

"Sunshine Islands, huh..." Chelsea commented to herself.

She highlighted the ad and made a point to call them in the morning. In the mean time she sat back and looked out the window. The farm was covered in snow and further away she could see the dock that was dimly lighted. Memories of that day came back to her. Her best friend Mark left this little village seven years ago, and she remembered it as clear as day. He meant a lot to her, seeing that she had no other siblings; he had always been the big brother to her, and she knew she had been starting to develop some feelings for him, but he left before she could find out what her feelings really were. She remembered waiting at home every day for his call but it never came. When Joe came back she had asked him if he knew where Mark was going but he was uncertain. News that came not much later after Mark had left was that there was a heavy storm and many boats either sank or went missing. There were many rescue teams and she watched the news diligently in hopes that Mark would be one among the rescued. The newspapers had released the names of those who were deceased and I gave a sigh of relieve that he was not among them, but many were missing. It was so long ago, no one was even sure if he was in one of those boats though there is a chance he might be and many of the villagers here believe him dead as it was very unlike him not to contact his close friends. She on the other hand prayed every day to the Harvest Goddess that he would be okay, that there is a reason that he didn't call. Seven years had passed since then, she had given up hope and had hoped that he didn't suffer too much before his demise. She felt tears forming in her eyes and quickly shook them off, telling herself to stop thinking about it and that Mark is in a better place now. She decided that she should tell her parents about the ranch she found.

Needless to say, her parents are happy for her, and they talked about all the possibilities and the opportunities that this ranch would give. If she buys the ranch, they offered to help her work the farm for a couple of months. Chelsea was grateful for their support but declined their offer as Sunshine Islands is far away besides she stated that they have their own farm to take care of. Though Chelsea knew that it wasn't much of a problem for her parents as they do have hired workers for the farm but she wanted that farm to grow by her own effort and she is an adult and could take care of herself. Her parents respect her decision and they weren't too worried as Chelsea does have farming experience, and that she wasn't too green in the ears.

The morning came and in Chelsea's opinion not quickly enough. She dialled the number on the ad and reached a man named Taro. He had a scratchy voice which quickly tells Chelsea that he's an old man.

"I'm glad you called young lady, the last owner left at the end of Fall. Thank Goddess if you ask me! He gives everyone the creeps and his produce weren't great either. So you say you have farm experience eh?" Taro enquired.

"Yes sir! I'm pretty sure I would do a great job and is very confident that I could meet the demands of the villagers and maybe even more."

Taro chuckled, "I like your confidence young lady. However it is going to be harder than you think. The last owner did left the farm in a mess, since he left, he didn't soiled any seeds end of Fall so the Spring is going to be tough on you as crops will be growing late. However no worries, I will be helping you start off. I have a few tools that you can have to start and some seeds as well, that should help you get started."

"You're really kind sir, and I thank you for all of your help." Chelsea replied gratefully. "I will be there in a couple of months when winter would be mostly over."

"Sounds good to me. I will see you then Miss Chelsea."

When she hung up the phone, Chelsea smiled, "Watch out Sunshine Islands, here I come!"

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><p>Chelsea arrives on Sprout Island of Sunshine Islands in the mid-day with her dog Toby. Winter is almost over, however it does get chilly as the wind is strong especially on these islands as there is no higher grounds to block the wind. Despite the bite of the wind, Chelsea found that the island has its own charm. She walked passed a mansion and looked at it with awe, admiring its architecture, before continuing on her way. She stopped at the Cafe on Sprout Island to ask for directions. The elderly lady who runs the cafe gave her the directions to Taro's house on Verdure Island, which is just across the bridge. She noticed as she was walking towards Taro's home that passersby would look at her way curiously. Chelsea realized that the inhabitants of the Sunshine Islands are a very close-knit community and knows everyone who lives on the islands, and that she has a backpack and is dragging a couple of luggage makes her not the ordinary visitor or tourist, since tourists would be checking in the hotel on Sprout island. They were all wondering one same thing, and that is whether she is the new rancher Taro had been talking about. Chelsea could hear them whispering among themselves.<p>

"... she's so young..."

"..doesn't look like she'll last working in the farm..."

".. she's gorgeous.."

"..so brave, all by herself.."

"..such a cute dog.."

Chelsea decides to shut them off and continued walking. She knocked on the door and waited. A young man with glasses and soft pink hair opened the door a moment later. He stared at her for a moment, blushed and stuttered,

"H...How can I help you miss.."

"Hi, my name is Chelsea. I'm the new rancher here, does Taro live here?" she introduced herself, putting down her luggage and offered her right hand.

The young man shook it, "I..I'm E..Elliot, n..nice to meet you... come on inside. Taro's my grandfather, h...he should be b..back soon."

Chelsea thanked him and went inside, Toby followed. She immediately felt warmer, she didn't realized how chilly it was outside till she came inside. Elliot offered her a sit and sat down with her and then, silence. Elliot was staring at the Toby silently, almost as if he's afraid of him.

"Don't worry, Toby is well-trained, he won't bite" Chelsea ensure him.

"Umm.. yeah sure.." Elliot continued watching Toby silently, still uncomfortable but looking slightly more relaxed.

It was an awkward silence that Chelsea was relieved when she heard the rustle on the doorstep, some chatter and then the creak of someone opening the door. In came a beautiful woman whom Chelsea assumes is Elliot's mother as she has the same shade of pink hair as he does, in which was braided. She was carrying a bag of groceries, followed by a girl with similar pink hair who was also carrying bags of groceries. An old man with a walking stick came in soon after them. He had no hair, but he had a white moustache that made up for it.

"Oh, I didn't know we had a guest. Hi my name is Felicia." She came in putting down her groceries and shook Chelsea's hand. "I see you met Elliot, this is Natalie" she gesture to the girl that is currently putting her groceries down, "They're my children and that man right there in my father, Taro. Please to meet you."

"I'm Chelsea, please to meet all of you."

"Ah, so you're the farmer my father was talking about, he never told us how young you are, not to mention pretty too, of course he hadn't met you yet." Felicia smiled.

Chelsea could tell how warm and friendly Felicia is, and chatty too.

"Yes well, I'm twenty-two. Probably a good time for me to start my very own farm." Chelsea laughed

"You're the s..same age as I am then." Elliot stuttered.

"Ah yes, you should come with me young lady, I'll show you where your farm is. I have the keys." Taro stated. "Elliot, you should come help her with her luggage."

As Elliot started to get up, Chelsea said, "Don't worry about it, I can take my own luggage I'm sure you are busy with your own work." Truthfully, Chelsea didn't want him to come along as she knew the poor boy was a little bit scared of Toby and she was beginning to notice that Natalie looked a little bit uncomfortable with Toby in the house.

"Okay if you are sure, let's go!" Taro said, before heading out the door, leading the way to the ranch.

"Toby, let's go boy!" Chelsea said as she picked up her luggage, "Thank you Felicia, Elliot, Natalie, for welcoming me to your home."

She headed out following Taro and her Labrador followed behind her obediently.

She realized she enjoyed Taro's company as his words were so full of wisdom. He's also full of energy for someone his age. When they reached her farm he handed her the keys and bid her goodbye to allow her to unpack her stuff. A glimpse at the farm she knew she had a lot of work ahead. When she went inside, she saw that there was a table, a bed, a nightstand, a toolbox and a telephone. Taro had told her before that he had it set up before her arrival so she'll have electric and a working phone line. She looked around the house, noting she has a shower and there isn't a kitchen. She wasn't too worried about it as she can't cook but knows it's probably good to get one soon to cut cost from eating out. She started unpacked and would be done by night in which she would be playing with Toby and calling her parents to tell them about her day in Sunshine Islands.

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><p>After leaving Chelsea to settle in her farmhouse, Taro left for home. When he got back home, the topic of interest with no surprise was the new rancher.<p>

"She's so sweet isn't she father?" Felicia smiled "I like her already, we were just talking about how adorable she is, so beautiful too, her eyes are like sapphire so clear and innocent."

"Yes, I think she would be up to the job too." Taro said.

"Really, grandfather?" Natalie said surprised, "She doesn't look like she would be able to do much work, especially the fields."

Elliot was seen nodding in agreement.

"Trust me; I have a good feeling about this one. I can tell she's very sincere in everything she said. And her hands are that of a farmers'. It's very coarse from having to work, and I can tell the bags she was carrying are pretty heavy from when I heard her put them down. She isn't just looks, I'm sure she would do just fine." Taro stated what he had observed. "Should she stay here for a long time, she's going to be essential to our way of life in these islands."

"Sounds like you have high expectations of her grandfather." Elliot said

"Better than the one I have of you, young man." Taro said playfully not quite meaning it.

Elliot has a down casted look while his sister Natalie, snickered.

"I'm sure Elliot would do just fine father. He is doing a great job in shipments." Felicia said, defending her son.

"Yeah well I wish he would grow more of a back bone, you need more confidence when you're doing any kind of business, can't let others push you around." Taro retorted, he looked out the window and said to no one in particular. "My knees tell me that it's going to be sunny tomorrow."

"Chelsea came here all by herself," Natalie said changing the subject, maybe we should show her around these few days.

"That sounds nice dear, you should do that tomorrow." Felicia said.

"I have to do some shipments in neighbouring islands tomorrow, Elliot you should do it." Natalie said.

"Eh, but that was your idea. Oh never mind, I'll do it. She looks like she needs a friend." Elliot said.

"You like her don't you Elliot," Natalie teased, "you were stuttering a lot when she's here, not that she's in your league."

"Hush Natalie, it's just that I'm no good with new people." Elliot said exasperated.

"Children, no fighting," Felicia said.

"Children will be children, let them figure it out themselves." Taro said.

"We're not children anymore mum, grandfather." Natalie said.

"You two will always be children in my eyes." Taro said.

And that is how it continued throughout the day in the household.

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><p><em>Author's note: Thanks for reading, I know the story is going slow right now, but I felt it is essential to show how closely knit Taro's family is. Please leave comments :D<em>


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